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Ascensao JA, Lok K, Hallatschek O. Asynchronous abundance fluctuations can drive giant genotype frequency fluctuations. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.23.581776. [PMID: 38562700 PMCID: PMC10983864 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.23.581776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Large stochastic population abundance fluctuations are ubiquitous across the tree of life 1-7 , impacting the predictability of population dynamics and influencing eco-evolutionary outcomes. It has generally been thought that these large abundance fluctuations do not strongly impact evolution, as the relative frequencies of alleles in the population will be unaffected if the abundance of all alleles fluctuate in unison. However, we argue that large abundance fluctuations can lead to significant genotype frequency fluctuations if different genotypes within a population experience these fluctuations asynchronously. By serially diluting mixtures of two closely related E. coli strains, we show that such asynchrony can occur, leading to giant frequency fluctuations that far exceed expectations from models of genetic drift. We develop a flexible, effective model that explains the abundance fluctuations as arising from correlated offspring numbers between individuals, and the large frequency fluctuations result from even slight decoupling in offspring numbers between genotypes. This model accurately describes the observed abundance and frequency fluctuation scaling behaviors. Our findings suggest chaotic dynamics underpin these giant fluctuations, causing initially similar trajectories to diverge exponentially; subtle environmental changes can be magnified, leading to batch correlations in identical growth conditions. Furthermore, we present evidence that such decoupling noise is also present in mixed-genotype S. cerevisiae populations. We demonstrate that such decoupling noise can strongly influence evolutionary outcomes, in a manner distinct from genetic drift. Given the generic nature of asynchronous fluctuations, we anticipate that they are widespread in biological populations, significantly affecting evolutionary and ecological dynamics.
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2
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Lai HY, Cooper TF. Costs of antibiotic resistance genes depend on host strain and environment and can influence community composition. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240735. [PMID: 38889784 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) benefit host bacteria in environments containing corresponding antibiotics, but it is less clear how they are maintained in environments where antibiotic selection is weak or sporadic. In particular, few studies have measured if the direct effect of ARGs on host fitness is fixed or if it depends on the host strain, perhaps marking some ARG-host combinations as selective refuges that can maintain ARGs in the absence of antibiotic selection. We quantified the fitness effects of six ARGs in 11 diverse Escherichia spp. strains. Three ARGs (blaTEM-116, cat and dfrA5, encoding resistance to β-lactams, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim, respectively) imposed an overall cost, but all ARGs had an effect in at least one host strain, reflecting a significant strain interaction effect. A simulation predicts these interactions can cause the success of ARGs to depend on available host strains, and, to a lesser extent, can cause host strain success to depend on the ARGs present in a community. These results indicate the importance of considering ARG effects across different host strains, and especially the potential of refuge strains to allow resistance to persist in the absence of direct selection, in efforts to understand resistance dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huei-Yi Lai
- School of Natural and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Tim F Cooper
- School of Natural and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
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3
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Mori M, Patsalo V, Euler C, Williamson JR, Scott M. Proteome partitioning constraints in long-term laboratory evolution. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4087. [PMID: 38744842 PMCID: PMC11094134 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48447-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Adaptive laboratory evolution experiments provide a controlled context in which the dynamics of selection and adaptation can be followed in real-time at the single-nucleotide level. And yet this precision introduces hundreds of degrees-of-freedom as genetic changes accrue in parallel lineages over generations. On short timescales, physiological constraints have been leveraged to provide a coarse-grained view of bacterial gene expression characterized by a small set of phenomenological parameters. Here, we ask whether this same framework, operating at a level between genotype and fitness, informs physiological changes that occur on evolutionary timescales. Using a strain adapted to growth in glucose minimal medium, we find that the proteome is substantially remodeled over 40 000 generations. The most striking change is an apparent increase in enzyme efficiency, particularly in the enzymes of lower-glycolysis. We propose that deletion of metabolic flux-sensing regulation early in the adaptation results in increased enzyme saturation and can account for the observed proteome remodeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Mori
- Department of Physics, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Vadim Patsalo
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Christian Euler
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - James R Williamson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Matthew Scott
- Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research and the Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
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4
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Ascensao JA, Denk J, Lok K, Yu Q, Wetmore KM, Hallatschek O. Rediversification following ecotype isolation reveals hidden adaptive potential. Curr Biol 2024; 34:855-867.e6. [PMID: 38325377 PMCID: PMC10911448 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Microbial communities play a critical role in ecological processes, and their diversity is key to their functioning. However, little is known about whether communities can regenerate ecological diversity following ecotype removal or extinction and how the rediversified communities would compare to the original ones. Here, we show that simple two-ecotype communities from the E. coli long-term evolution experiment (LTEE) consistently rediversified into two ecotypes following the isolation of one of the ecotypes, coexisting via negative frequency-dependent selection. Communities separated by more than 30,000 generations of evolutionary time rediversify in similar ways. The rediversified ecotype appears to share a number of growth traits with the ecotype it replaces. However, the rediversified community is also different from the original community in ways relevant to the mechanism of ecotype coexistence-for example, in stationary phase response and survival. We found substantial variation in the transcriptional states between the two original ecotypes, whereas the differences within the rediversified community were comparatively smaller, although the rediversified community showed unique patterns of differential expression. Our results suggest that evolution may leave room for alternative diversification processes even in a maximally reduced community of only two strains. We hypothesize that the presence of alternative evolutionary pathways may be even more pronounced in communities of many species where there are even more potential niches, highlighting an important role for perturbations, such as species removal, in evolving ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joao A Ascensao
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jonas Denk
- Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Kristen Lok
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Present affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - QinQin Yu
- Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley Berkeley, CA, USA
- Present affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Kelly M Wetmore
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
| | - Oskar Hallatschek
- Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Peter Debye Institute for Soft Matter Physics, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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5
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McGrath KM, Russell SJ, Fer E, Garmendia E, Hosgel A, Baltrus DA, Kaçar B. Fitness benefits of a synonymous substitution in an ancient EF-Tu gene depend on the genetic background. J Bacteriol 2024; 206:e0032923. [PMID: 38289064 PMCID: PMC10882980 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00329-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Synonymous mutations are changes to DNA sequence, which occur within translated genes but which do not affect the protein sequence. Although often referred to as silent mutations, evidence suggests that synonymous mutations can affect gene expression, mRNA stability, and even translation efficiency. A collection of both experimental and bioinformatic data has shown that synonymous mutations can impact cell phenotype, yet less is known about the molecular mechanisms and potential of beneficial or adaptive effects of such changes within evolved populations. Here, we report a beneficial synonymous mutation acquired via experimental evolution in an essential gene variant encoding the translation elongation factor protein EF-Tu. We demonstrate that this particular synonymous mutation increases EF-Tu mRNA and protein levels as well as global polysome abundance on RNA transcripts. Although presence of the synonymous mutation is clearly causative of such changes, we also demonstrate that fitness benefits are highly contingent on other potentiating mutations present within the genetic background in which the mutation arose. Our results underscore the importance of beneficial synonymous mutations, especially those that affect levels of proteins that are key for cellular processes.IMPORTANCEThis study explores the degree to which synonymous mutations in essential genes can influence adaptation in bacteria. An experimental system whereby an Escherichia coli strain harboring an engineered translation protein elongation factor-Tu (EF-Tu) was subjected to laboratory evolution. We find that a synonymous mutation acquired on the gene encoding for EF-Tu is conditionally beneficial for bacterial fitness. Our findings provide insight into the importance of the genetic background when a synonymous substitution is favored by natural selection and how such changes have the potential to impact evolution when critical cellular processes are involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn M. McGrath
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Steven J. Russell
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Evrim Fer
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Microbial Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Eva Garmendia
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ali Hosgel
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - David A. Baltrus
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Betül Kaçar
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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6
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McGrath KM, Russell SJ, Fer E, Garmendia E, Hosgel A, Baltrus DA, Kaçar B. A beneficial synonymous substitution in EF-Tu is contingent on genetic background. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.06.555949. [PMID: 37886545 PMCID: PMC10602032 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.06.555949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Synonymous mutations are changes to DNA sequence that occur within translated genes but which do not affect the protein sequence. Although often referred to as silent mutations, evidence suggests that synonymous mutations can affect gene expression, mRNA stability, and even translation efficiency. A collection of both experimental and bioinformatic data has shown that synonymous mutations can impact cell phenotype, yet less is known about the molecular mechanisms and potential of beneficial or adaptive effects of such changes within evolved populations. Here, we report a beneficial synonymous mutation acquired via experimental evolution in an essential gene variant encoding the translation Elongation Factor protein EF-Tu. We demonstrate that this particular synonymous mutation increases EF-Tu mRNA and protein levels, as well as the polysome abundance on global transcripts. Although presence of the synonymous mutation is clearly causative of such changes, we also demonstrate that fitness benefits are highly contingent on other potentiating mutations present within the genetic background in which the mutation arose. Our results underscore the importance of beneficial synonymous mutations, especially those that affect levels of proteins that are key for cellular processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn M. McGrath
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Steven J. Russell
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Evrim Fer
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Microbial Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Eva Garmendia
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Sweden
| | - Ali Hosgel
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - David A. Baltrus
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Betül Kaçar
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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7
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Ascensao JA, Denk J, Lok K, Yu Q, Wetmore KM, Hallatschek O. Rediversification Following Ecotype Isolation Reveals Hidden Adaptive Potential. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.03.539206. [PMID: 37205326 PMCID: PMC10187175 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.03.539206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Microbial communities play a critical role in ecological processes, and their diversity is key to their functioning. However, little is known about if communities can regenerate ecological diversity following species removal or extinction, and how the rediversified communities would compare to the original ones. Here we show that simple two-ecotype communities from the E. coli Long Term Evolution Experiment (LTEE) consistently rediversified into two ecotypes following the isolation of one of the ecotypes, coexisting via negative frequency-dependent selection. Communities separated by more than 30,000 generations of evolutionary time rediversify in similar ways. The rediversified ecotype appears to share a number of growth traits with the ecotype it replaces. However, the rediversified community is also different compared to the original community in ways relevant to the mechanism of ecotype coexistence, for example in stationary phase response and survival. We found substantial variation in the transcriptional states between the two original ecotypes, whereas the differences within the rediversified community were comparatively smaller, but with unique patterns of differential expression. Our results suggest that evolution may leave room for alternative diversification processes even in a maximally reduced community of only two strains. We hypothesize that the presence of alternative evolutionary pathways may be even more pronounced in communities of many species, highlighting an important role for perturbations, such as species removal, in evolving ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joao A Ascensao
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jonas Denk
- Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Kristen Lok
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - QinQin Yu
- Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley Berkeley, CA, USA
- Present affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Kelly M Wetmore
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
| | - Oskar Hallatschek
- Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Peter Debye Institute for Soft Matter Physics, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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8
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Laboratory evolution reveals general and specific tolerance mechanisms for commodity chemicals. Metab Eng 2023; 76:179-192. [PMID: 36738854 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Although strain tolerance to high product concentrations is a barrier to the economically viable biomanufacturing of industrial chemicals, chemical tolerance mechanisms are often unknown. To reveal tolerance mechanisms, an automated platform was utilized to evolve Escherichia coli to grow optimally in the presence of 11 industrial chemicals (1,2-propanediol, 2,3-butanediol, glutarate, adipate, putrescine, hexamethylenediamine, butanol, isobutyrate, coumarate, octanoate, hexanoate), reaching tolerance at concentrations 60%-400% higher than initial toxic levels. Sequencing genomes of 223 isolates from 89 populations, reverse engineering, and cross-compound tolerance profiling were employed to uncover tolerance mechanisms. We show that: 1) cells are tolerized via frequent mutation of membrane transporters or cell wall-associated proteins (e.g., ProV, KgtP, SapB, NagA, NagC, MreB), transcription and translation machineries (e.g., RpoA, RpoB, RpoC, RpsA, RpsG, NusA, Rho), stress signaling proteins (e.g., RelA, SspA, SpoT, YobF), and for certain chemicals, regulators and enzymes in metabolism (e.g., MetJ, NadR, GudD, PurT); 2) osmotic stress plays a significant role in tolerance when chemical concentrations exceed a general threshold and mutated genes frequently overlap with those enabling chemical tolerance in membrane transporters and cell wall-associated proteins; 3) tolerization to a specific chemical generally improves tolerance to structurally similar compounds whereas a tradeoff can occur on dissimilar chemicals, and 4) using pre-tolerized starting isolates can hugely enhance the subsequent production of chemicals when a production pathway is inserted in many, but not all, evolved tolerized host strains, underpinning the need for evolving multiple parallel populations. Taken as a whole, this study provides a comprehensive genotype-phenotype map based on identified mutations and growth phenotypes for 223 chemical tolerant isolates.
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9
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Ascensao JA, Wetmore KM, Good BH, Arkin AP, Hallatschek O. Quantifying the local adaptive landscape of a nascent bacterial community. Nat Commun 2023; 14:248. [PMID: 36646697 PMCID: PMC9842643 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35677-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The fitness effects of all possible mutations available to an organism largely shape the dynamics of evolutionary adaptation. Yet, whether and how this adaptive landscape changes over evolutionary times, especially upon ecological diversification and changes in community composition, remains poorly understood. We sought to fill this gap by analyzing a stable community of two closely related ecotypes ("L" and "S") shortly after they emerged within the E. coli Long-Term Evolution Experiment (LTEE). We engineered genome-wide barcoded transposon libraries to measure the invasion fitness effects of all possible gene knockouts in the coexisting strains as well as their ancestor, for many different, ecologically relevant conditions. We find consistent statistical patterns of fitness effect variation across both genetic background and community composition, despite the idiosyncratic behavior of individual knockouts. Additionally, fitness effects are correlated with evolutionary outcomes for a number of conditions, possibly revealing shifting patterns of adaptation. Together, our results reveal how ecological and epistatic effects combine to shape the adaptive landscape in a nascent ecological community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joao A Ascensao
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Kelly M Wetmore
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Benjamin H Good
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Adam P Arkin
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.,Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Oskar Hallatschek
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. .,Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. .,Peter Debye Institute for Soft Matter Physics, Leipzig University, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
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10
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Smith CE, Smith ANH, Cooper TF, Moore FBG. Fitness of evolving bacterial populations is contingent on deep and shallow history but only shallow history creates predictable patterns. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221292. [PMID: 36100026 PMCID: PMC9470251 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Long-term evolution experiments have tested the importance of genetic and environmental factors in influencing evolutionary outcomes. Differences in phylogenetic history, recent adaptation to distinct environments and chance events, all influence the fitness of a population. However, the interplay of these factors on a population's evolutionary potential remains relatively unexplored. We tracked the outcome of 2000 generations of evolution of four natural isolates of Escherichia coli bacteria that were engineered to also create differences in shallow history by adding previously identified mutations selected in a separate long-term experiment. Replicate populations started from each progenitor evolved in four environments. We found that deep and shallow phylogenetic histories both contributed significantly to differences in evolved fitness, though by different amounts in different selection environments. With one exception, chance effects were not significant. Whereas the effect of deep history did not follow any detectable pattern, effects of shallow history followed a pattern of diminishing returns whereby fitter ancestors had smaller fitness increases. These results are consistent with adaptive evolution being contingent on the interaction of several evolutionary forces but demonstrate that the nature of these interactions is not fixed and may not be predictable even when the role of chance is small.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea E Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
| | - Adam N H Smith
- School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland 0634, New Zealand
| | - Tim F Cooper
- School of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Auckland 0634, New Zealand
| | - Francisco B-G Moore
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
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11
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Xu Z, Wang L, Wang X, Wan M, Tang M, Ding Y. Characterizing the Effect of the Lysine Deacetylation Modification on Enzyme Activity of Pyruvate Kinase I and Pathogenicity of Vibrio alginolyticus. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:877067. [PMID: 35795782 PMCID: PMC9252168 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.877067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Pyruvate kinase I (PykF) is one of the key enzymes of glycolysis and plays a crucial role in bacterial metabolism. Several acetylation sites of Vibrio alginolyticus PykF were reported in previous studies and then 11 sites were first verified in this study, however, the specific roles of PykF acetylation remains unclear. Overlap-PCR and homologous recombination were implied to delete V. alginolyticus pykF gene and constructed complementary strains of site-directed mutagenesis for the further research focus on the deacetylation regulation on PykF. The results showed that the pyruvate kinase activity was sharply suppressed in the deacetylation status of K52, K68, and K317 of PykF, as well as the extracellular protease activity was significantly decreased in the deacetylation status of K52 and K68, but not induced with K317. Moreover, the growth rates of V. alginolyticus were not influenced with these three deacetylation sites. The ΔpykF mutant exhibited a 6-fold reduction in virulence to zebrafish. Site-directed mutations of K52R and K68R also showed reduced virulence while mutations of K317R didn't. The in vitro experiments showed that PykF was acetylated by acetyl phosphate (AcP), with the increase of incubation time by AcP, the acetylation level of PykF increased while the enzyme activity of PykF decreased correspondingly. Besides, PykF was deacetylated by CobB deacetylase and in result that the deacetylation was significantly down-regulated while the pyruvate kinase activity of PykF increased. Moreover, deletion of cobB gene had no significant difference in pyruvate kinase activity. These results confirm that CobB can regulate the acetylation level and pyruvate kinase activity of PykF. In summary, the results of this study provide a theoretical basis for further understanding of the deacetylation modification of PykF. It provides a new idea for the prevention and cure of vibriosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhou Xu
- Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Biology and Epidemiology for Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Control for Diseases of Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Linjing Wang
- Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Biology and Epidemiology for Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Control for Diseases of Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Xudong Wang
- Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Biology and Epidemiology for Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Control for Diseases of Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Mingyue Wan
- Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Biology and Epidemiology for Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Control for Diseases of Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Mei Tang
- Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Biology and Epidemiology for Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Control for Diseases of Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Yu Ding
- Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Biology and Epidemiology for Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Control for Diseases of Aquatic Economic Animals, Zhanjiang, China
- *Correspondence: Yu Ding
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12
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Patton AH, Richards EJ, Gould KJ, Buie LK, Martin CH. Hybridization alters the shape of the genotypic fitness landscape, increasing access to novel fitness peaks during adaptive radiation. eLife 2022; 11:e72905. [PMID: 35616528 PMCID: PMC9135402 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Estimating the complex relationship between fitness and genotype or phenotype (i.e. the adaptive landscape) is one of the central goals of evolutionary biology. However, adaptive walks connecting genotypes to organismal fitness, speciation, and novel ecological niches are still poorly understood and processes for surmounting fitness valleys remain controversial. One outstanding system for addressing these connections is a recent adaptive radiation of ecologically and morphologically novel pupfishes (a generalist, molluscivore, and scale-eater) endemic to San Salvador Island, Bahamas. We leveraged whole-genome sequencing of 139 hybrids from two independent field fitness experiments to identify the genomic basis of fitness, estimate genotypic fitness networks, and measure the accessibility of adaptive walks on the fitness landscape. We identified 132 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were significantly associated with fitness in field enclosures. Six out of the 13 regions most strongly associated with fitness contained differentially expressed genes and fixed SNPs between trophic specialists; one gene (mettl21e) was also misexpressed in lab-reared hybrids, suggesting a potential intrinsic genetic incompatibility. We then constructed genotypic fitness networks from adaptive alleles and show that scale-eating specialists are the most isolated of the three species on these networks. Intriguingly, introgressed and de novo variants reduced fitness landscape ruggedness as compared to standing variation, increasing the accessibility of genotypic fitness paths from generalist to specialists. Our results suggest that adaptive introgression and de novo mutations alter the shape of the fitness landscape, providing key connections in adaptive walks circumventing fitness valleys and triggering the evolution of novelty during adaptive radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin H Patton
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Emilie J Richards
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Katelyn J Gould
- Department of Biology, University of North CarolinaChapel HillUnited States
| | - Logan K Buie
- Department of Biology, University of North CarolinaChapel HillUnited States
| | - Christopher H Martin
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
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Deatherage DE, Barrick JE. High-throughput characterization of mutations in genes that drive clonal evolution using multiplex adaptome capture sequencing. Cell Syst 2021; 12:1187-1200.e4. [PMID: 34536379 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2021.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how cells are likely to evolve can guide medical interventions and bioengineering efforts that must contend with unwanted mutations. The adaptome of a cell-the neighborhood of genetic changes that are most likely to drive adaptation in a given environment-can be mapped by tracking rare beneficial variants during the early stages of clonal evolution. We used multiplex adaptome capture sequencing (mAdCap-seq), a procedure that combines unique molecular identifiers and hybridization-based enrichment, to characterize mutations in eight Escherichia coli genes known to be under selection in a laboratory environment. We tracked 301 mutations at frequencies as low as 0.01% and inferred the fitness effects of 240 of these mutations. There were distinct molecular signatures of selection on protein structure and function for the three genes with the most beneficial mutations. Our results demonstrate how mAdCap-seq can be used to deeply profile a targeted portion of a cell's adaptome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Deatherage
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Jeffrey E Barrick
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
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14
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Karkare K, Lai HY, Azevedo RBR, Cooper TF. Historical Contingency Causes Divergence in Adaptive Expression of the lac Operon. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:2869-2879. [PMID: 33744956 PMCID: PMC8233506 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Populations of Escherichia coli selected in constant and fluctuating environments containing lactose often adapt by substituting mutations in the lacI repressor that cause constitutive expression of the lac operon. These mutations occur at a high rate and provide a significant benefit. Despite this, eight of 24 populations evolved for 8,000 generations in environments containing lactose contained no detectable repressor mutations. We report here on the basis of this observation. We find that, given relevant mutation rates, repressor mutations are expected to have fixed in all evolved populations if they had maintained the same fitness effect they confer when introduced to the ancestor. In fact, reconstruction experiments demonstrate that repressor mutations have become neutral or deleterious in those populations in which they were not detectable. Populations not fixing repressor mutations nevertheless reached the same fitness as those that did fix them, indicating that they followed an alternative evolutionary path that made redundant the potential benefit of the repressor mutation, but involved unique mutations of equivalent benefit. We identify a mutation occurring in the promoter region of the uspB gene as a candidate for influencing the selective choice between these paths. Our results detail an example of historical contingency leading to divergent evolutionary outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kedar Karkare
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Huei-Yi Lai
- School of Natural and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Ricardo B R Azevedo
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Tim F Cooper
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.,School of Natural and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
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15
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Candida albicans Genetic Background Influences Mean and Heterogeneity of Drug Responses and Genome Stability during Evolution in Fluconazole. mSphere 2020; 5:5/3/e00480-20. [PMID: 32581072 PMCID: PMC7316494 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00480-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is an evolutionary phenomenon with clinical implications. We tested how replicates from diverse strains of Candida albicans, a prevalent human fungal pathogen, evolve in the commonly prescribed antifungal drug fluconazole. Replicates on average increased in fitness in the level of drug they were evolved to, with the least fit parental strains improving the most. Very few replicates increased resistance above the drug level they were evolved in. Notably, many replicates increased in genome size and changed in drug tolerance (a drug response where a subpopulation of cells grow slowly in high levels of drug), and variability among replicates in fitness, tolerance, and genome size was higher in strains that initially were more sensitive to the drug. Genetic background influenced the average degree of adaptation and the evolved variability of many phenotypes, highlighting that different strains from the same species may respond and adapt very differently during adaptation. The importance of within-species diversity in determining the evolutionary potential of a population to evolve drug resistance or tolerance is not well understood, including in eukaryotic pathogens. To examine the influence of genetic background, we evolved replicates of 20 different clinical isolates of Candida albicans, a human fungal pathogen, in fluconazole, the commonly used antifungal drug. The isolates hailed from the major C. albicans clades and had different initial levels of drug resistance and tolerance to the drug. The majority of replicates rapidly increased in fitness in the evolutionary environment, with the degree of improvement inversely correlated with parental strain fitness in the drug. Improvement was largely restricted to up to the evolutionary level of drug: only 4% of the evolved replicates increased resistance (MIC) above the evolutionary level of drug. Prevalent changes were altered levels of drug tolerance (slow growth of a subpopulation of cells at drug concentrations above the MIC) and increased diversity of genome size. The prevalence and predominant direction of these changes differed in a strain-specific manner, but neither correlated directly with parental fitness or improvement in fitness. Rather, low parental strain fitness was correlated with high levels of heterogeneity in fitness, tolerance, and genome size among evolved replicates. Thus, parental strain background is an important determinant in mean improvement to the evolutionary environment as well as the diversity of evolved phenotypes, and the range of possible responses of a pathogen to an antimicrobial drug cannot be captured by in-depth study of a single strain background. IMPORTANCE Antimicrobial resistance is an evolutionary phenomenon with clinical implications. We tested how replicates from diverse strains of Candida albicans, a prevalent human fungal pathogen, evolve in the commonly prescribed antifungal drug fluconazole. Replicates on average increased in fitness in the level of drug they were evolved to, with the least fit parental strains improving the most. Very few replicates increased resistance above the drug level they were evolved in. Notably, many replicates increased in genome size and changed in drug tolerance (a drug response where a subpopulation of cells grow slowly in high levels of drug), and variability among replicates in fitness, tolerance, and genome size was higher in strains that initially were more sensitive to the drug. Genetic background influenced the average degree of adaptation and the evolved variability of many phenotypes, highlighting that different strains from the same species may respond and adapt very differently during adaptation.
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16
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Wang Y, Cooper TF. Environment-dependent costs and benefits of recombination in independently evolved populations of Escherichia coli. Evolution 2020; 74:1865-1873. [PMID: 32281651 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Revised: 03/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Understanding of the causes by which reproductive isolation arises remains limited. We examine the role of adaptation in driving reproductive isolation among 12 Escherichia coli populations evolved in two different environments. We found that, regardless of whether parents were selected in the same or different environments, the average fitness of recombinants was lower than the expected, consistent with a prevailing influence of incompatibility between independently accumulated mutations. Exceptions to this pattern occurred among recombinants of some parents evolved in different environments. These recombinants were less fit than expected in the selective environment of one parent, but more fit than expected in the selective environment of the other parent. Our results indicate that both parallel and divergent adaptation can quickly lead to intrinsic genetic barriers contributing to the initial stages of speciation and show that these barriers can be complex, for example, depending on the environment in which recombinant offspring are tested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinhua Wang
- Department of Biology, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, 77204.,Present address: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Animal and Plant Resistance, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, China
| | - Tim F Cooper
- Department of Biology, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, 77204.,Present address: Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, 0630, New Zealand
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17
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The fitness challenge of studying molecular adaptation. Biochem Soc Trans 2020; 47:1533-1542. [PMID: 31642877 DOI: 10.1042/bst20180626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Advances in bioinformatics and high-throughput genetic analysis increasingly allow us to predict the genetic basis of adaptive traits. These predictions can be tested and confirmed, but the molecular-level changes - i.e. the molecular adaptation - that link genetic differences to organism fitness remain generally unknown. In recent years, a series of studies have started to unpick the mechanisms of adaptation at the molecular level. In particular, this work has examined how changes in protein function, activity, and regulation cause improved organismal fitness. Key to addressing molecular adaptations is identifying systems and designing experiments that integrate changes in the genome, protein chemistry (molecular phenotype), and fitness. Knowledge of the molecular changes underpinning adaptations allow new insight into the constraints on, and repeatability of adaptations, and of the basis of non-additive interactions between adaptive mutations. Here we critically discuss a series of studies that examine the molecular-level adaptations that connect genetic changes and fitness.
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18
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Gilkes JM, Sheen CR, Frampton RA, Smith GR, Dobson RCJ. The First Purification of Functional Proteins from the Unculturable, Genome-Reduced, Bottlenecked α-Proteobacterium ' Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum'. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2019; 109:1141-1148. [PMID: 30887888 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-12-18-0486-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' is an unculturable α-proteobacterium that is the causal agent of zebra chip disease of potato-a major problem in potato-growing areas, because it affects growth and yield. Developing effective treatments for 'Ca. L. solanacearum' has been hampered by the difficulty in functionally characterizing the proteins of this organism, largely because they are not easily expressed and purified in standard expression systems. 'Ca. L. solanacearum' has a reduced genome and its proteins are predicted to be prone to instability and aggregation. Among intracellular-dwelling bacteria, chaperone proteins are conserved and overexpressed to buffer against problems in protein folding. We mimicked this approach for expressing and purifying 'Ca. L. solanacearum' proteins in Escherichia coli by coexpressing them with chaperones. Neither of the representative 'Ca. L. solanacearum' enzymes, dihydrodipicolinate synthase (key in lysine biosynthesis) and pyruvate kinase (involved in glycolysis), were overexpressed in standard E. coli expression plasmids or strains. However, soluble dihydrodipicolinate synthase was successfully coexpressed with GroEL/GroES, while soluble pyruvate kinase was successfully coexpressed with either GroEL/GroES, dnaK/dnaJ/grpE, or a trigger factor. Both enzymes, believed to be key proteins for the organism, were purified by a combination of affinity chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography. Additionally, both 'Ca. L. solanacearum' enzymes are active and have the canonical tetrameric oligomeric structure in solution, consistent with other bacterial orthologs. This is the first study to successfully isolate and functionally characterize proteins from 'Ca. L. solanacearum'. Thus, we provide a general strategy for characterizing its proteins, enabling new research and drug discovery programs to study and manage the pathogenicity of the organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna M Gilkes
- 1 Biomolecular Interaction Centre, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand
- 2 The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Lincoln 7608, New Zealand
| | - Campbell R Sheen
- 3 Callaghan Innovation, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand; and
| | - Rebekah A Frampton
- 2 The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Lincoln 7608, New Zealand
| | - Grant R Smith
- 2 The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Lincoln 7608, New Zealand
| | - Renwick C J Dobson
- 1 Biomolecular Interaction Centre, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand
- 4 Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
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Zuo Y, Zhao L, Xu X, Zhang J, Zhang J, Yan Q, Huang L. Mechanisms underlying the virulence regulation of new Vibrio alginolyticus ncRNA Vvrr1 with a comparative proteomic analysis. Emerg Microbes Infect 2019; 8:1604-1618. [PMID: 31711375 PMCID: PMC6853220 DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2019.1687261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The incidence of Vibrio alginolyticus infections has increased in recent years due to the influence of climate change and rising sea temperature. Vibrio virulence regulatory RNA 1 (Vvrr1) is a newly found noncoding RNA (ncRNA) predicted to be closely related to the adhesion ability of V. alginolyticus based on the previous RNA-seq. In this study, the target genes of Vvrr1 were fully screened and verified by constructing Vvrr1-overexpressing strains and using the proteome sequencing technology. Pyruvate kinase I (pykF) gene was predicted to be a chief target gene of Vvrr1 involved in virulence regulation. The adhesion ability, biofilm formation and virulence were significantly reduced in the Vvrr1-overexpressing and the pykF-silenced strain compared with the wild strains. Similar to the overexpression of Vvrr1, the silencing of pykF also reduced the expression level of virulence genes, such as ndk, eno, sdhB, glpF, and cysH. Meanwhile, by constructing the "pykF-GFP" fusion expression plasmid and using the GFP reporter gene analysis in Escherichia coli, the fluorescence intensity of the strain containing Vvrr1 whole ncRNA sequence vector was found to be significantly weakened. These indicated that Vvrr1 participated in the virulence regulation mechanism of V. alginolyticus by interacting with the virulence gene pykF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanfei Zuo
- Fisheries College, Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Jimei University, Xiamen, PR People’s Republic of China
| | - Lingmin Zhao
- Fisheries College, Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Jimei University, Xiamen, PR People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiaojin Xu
- Fisheries College, Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Jimei University, Xiamen, PR People’s Republic of China
| | - Jiaonan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Special Aquatic Feed for Fujian, Fujian Tianma Technology Company Limited, Fuzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jiaolin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Special Aquatic Feed for Fujian, Fujian Tianma Technology Company Limited, Fuzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qingpi Yan
- Fisheries College, Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Jimei University, Xiamen, PR People’s Republic of China
| | - Lixing Huang
- Fisheries College, Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Jimei University, Xiamen, PR People’s Republic of China
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20
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Van den Bergh B, Swings T, Fauvart M, Michiels J. Experimental Design, Population Dynamics, and Diversity in Microbial Experimental Evolution. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2018; 82:e00008-18. [PMID: 30045954 PMCID: PMC6094045 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00008-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In experimental evolution, laboratory-controlled conditions select for the adaptation of species, which can be monitored in real time. Despite the current popularity of such experiments, nature's most pervasive biological force was long believed to be observable only on time scales that transcend a researcher's life-span, and studying evolution by natural selection was therefore carried out solely by comparative means. Eventually, microorganisms' propensity for fast evolutionary changes proved us wrong, displaying strong evolutionary adaptations over a limited time, nowadays massively exploited in laboratory evolution experiments. Here, we formulate a guide to experimental evolution with microorganisms, explaining experimental design and discussing evolutionary dynamics and outcomes and how it is used to assess ecoevolutionary theories, improve industrially important traits, and untangle complex phenotypes. Specifically, we give a comprehensive overview of the setups used in experimental evolution. Additionally, we address population dynamics and genetic or phenotypic diversity during evolution experiments and expand upon contributing factors, such as epistasis and the consequences of (a)sexual reproduction. Dynamics and outcomes of evolution are most profoundly affected by the spatiotemporal nature of the selective environment, where changing environments might lead to generalists and structured environments could foster diversity, aided by, for example, clonal interference and negative frequency-dependent selection. We conclude with future perspectives, with an emphasis on possibilities offered by fast-paced technological progress. This work is meant to serve as an introduction to those new to the field of experimental evolution, as a guide to the budding experimentalist, and as a reference work to the seasoned expert.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bram Van den Bergh
- Laboratory of Symbiotic and Pathogenic Interactions, Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Michiels Lab, Center for Microbiology, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Douglas Lab, Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Toon Swings
- Laboratory of Symbiotic and Pathogenic Interactions, Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Michiels Lab, Center for Microbiology, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Maarten Fauvart
- Laboratory of Symbiotic and Pathogenic Interactions, Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Michiels Lab, Center for Microbiology, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- imec, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Michiels
- Laboratory of Symbiotic and Pathogenic Interactions, Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Michiels Lab, Center for Microbiology, VIB, Leuven, Belgium
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21
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Abstract
Experimental evolution is a method in which populations of organisms, often microbes, are founded by one or more ancestors of known genotype and then propagated under controlled conditions to study the evolutionary process. These evolving populations are influenced by all population genetic forces, including selection, mutation, drift, and recombination, and the relative contributions of these forces may be seen as mysterious. Here, I describe why the outcomes of experimental evolution should be viewed with greater certainty because the force of selection typically dominates. Importantly, any mutant rising rapidly to high frequency in large populations must have acquired adaptive traits in the selective environment. Sequencing the genomes of these mutants can identify genes or pathways that contribute to an adaptation. I review the logic and simple mathematics why this evolve-and-resequence approach is a powerful way to find the mutations or mutation combinations that best increase fitness in any new environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaughn S Cooper
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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